The Dragon and the Marlin
by Altress
Summary: Asahi's life gets turned upside down when he moves from Iwatobi to Kyushu. On his first day of school he meets two girls who couldn't be more different: the reserved Kuromi Ryujin and a masked girl everyone calls the "black dragon". But if these two girls are so different, why does it feel like they are so similar?
1. Prologue

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome to my first fanfiction on this profile! Like I already mentioned, I'm yet inexperienced and english is not my first language so please bear with me and my mistakes.

Some information may differ and I may have to change some of it (since certain things are not clear) to fit the story. Along the story there will be italian sentences (I'll explain why later on), which I will translate in round brackets, so that you'll always understand what is said or thought. To distinguish the two languages everything said/ thought in italian will be in _italics_. Anyways I hope you'll enjoy it so feel free to read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.

* * *

**Prologue - The freedom she wishes for**

There she sat, legs pulled to her chest. On one of the boxes in that abandoned warehouse.

A beautiful girl, 1,53 m tall with long blonde hair that goes down to her hips and crimson eyes. She wore a wide black coat that lies over her shoulders, bandages that cover her chest, a black mini skirt that is held up by a loose red belt, black over-knee socks and black boots with black laces. The soles of her boots have a red dragon fang print on the bottom and a black medical mask that covers half her face.

She was lost in thought, about her life, the life she lived up to that point. She should be happy that she was able to help those in need and yet the young girl was far from it. The blonde longed for better times, times, in which she didn't let it come to that, but she didn't have a choice if she wanted to make a difference in this unjust world.

"_Non posso più tornare indietro ormai, anche se vorrei...non ne ho la forza._" (I can't go back anymore, even if I wanted to…I don't have the strength to do it.) she mumbled to herself.

The girls' train of thought was interrupted when she heard someone approaching her.

"Boss? I'm sorry to disturb you, but we have to go now." said a new voice. A voice she knew well.

A petite girl, 1,57 m tall with shoulder-length white hair and blue eyes. She had the same bandages that covered her chest, but instead of a skirt she wore a pair of baggy red pants and black trainers.

Without looking up to her she simply said, "Is it them again?"

"Yes, Boss. They're in the park near your school as it seems." The white-haired girl informed the blonde.

"How many?"

"Six of them."

The red eyed girl sat up turning her gaze to the other girl with a determined look on her face. "I understand. Thank you, white dragon. I'm ready, let's go."

The petite girl looked at her friend with worry in her eyes. "Are you okay, Romi-chan?"

The blonde smiled slightly. "I am, don't worry about me. Call the others, we're heading out."

"As you wish, black dragon."

* * *

A/N: So, this is it for the prologue of The Dragon and The Marlin! I'm sorry if it's short, future chapters will be way longer than this, but I hope I got you even a bit curious of what will happen next. Did you like it? Did you hate it? Make sure to let me know in the reviews, suggestions are also appreciated. Thank you for taking your time to read this and if you're interested stay tuned for the next chapter!


	2. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to The Dragon and the Marlin!

There's not much to say this time, except have fun reading and I hope you'll enjoy it, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 1 – Start of a new life and a fateful encounter**

Next stop: Kyushu Station

"We're finally here, family! Here is where our new life will begin." A middle-aged man said to his wife and his 2 children.

"Yes and it was about time, darling." His wife said happily, before looking at their son with concern in her eyes. "Asahi, you haven't talked for the whole trip, are you okay honey?"

Asahi looked out of the window with his head resting on his hand and replied without even facing his mother. "Yes, mom. I'm fine."

It was clear that he wasn't, but his parents and his sister didn't want to pry further into his situation and they proceeded to get off the train and made their way into their new home.

* * *

After arriving at their house and sorting their things, Asahi was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking about the friends he had to leave behind again.

~~Flashback~~

"So, you really won't move again? You'll stay here and swim with us next year?" The shorter teal-haired boy asked one of his best friends, with joy in his amber eyes.

"Yes, this time for sure! I won't move again and we'll swim together next year and if we don't succeed, it will be the year after!" Asahi exclaimed, convinced of his words.

"Promise?"

"Yeah, I promise!"

~~End Flashback~~

Asahi was distressed at the thought of breaking a promise that meant so much to him. He really wanted to keep it, but he also knew that it wasn't possible, because he had to move because of his father's work.

So many times Asahi wished he could go back to at least apologize to his friends, because of him leaving so suddenly without even saying goodbye.

And tomorrow he would yet again go to a different school fearing that he would have to leave his new friends again like he did with the former. Still he had no other choice but to prepare himself for the inevitable, so he started preparing everything for his first day at his new school.

Standing up from his bed he took his bag and his school supplies he bought beforehand. "It's already late. I should probably finish up and go to bed." Asahi told himself taking everything he would need the day after and putting it in his bag.

After he was finished he got ready to go to sleep and fortunately he was tired enough from the trip that he fell asleep as soon as he lay back down in bed.

* * *

**On the next day...**

"Asahi, get up or you'll be late for your first day in your new school!" his mother yelled.

"Five more minutes mom!" Asahi insisted still half-asleep pulling the white sheets over his head as he tried to go back to sleep.

Asahi's mother pulled his blankets off of him causing Asahi to wake up again. "Alright! Alright! I'm up!"

Asahi slowly walked to the bathroom and did his usual morning routine: brush his teeth, wash his face and change into his uniform, which consists of a long sleeve white shirt with a red tie, a pair of black trousers and a light black blazer.

He walked down the stairs and entered the kitchen to have breakfast. His family was chatting lively, but Asahi was silent the whole time.

He wanted to get it over with quickly and fortunately for him it was soon time to go to school. So he grabbed his bag and headed towards the door.

"Bye Mom, Bye Dad, Bye Sis. I'm leaving."

"Alright have fun, sweetheart!"

"Good luck on your first day, son!"

"Yeah yeah, bye."

* * *

The school wasn't very far from his house, so Asahi decided to walk. When he arrived he entered the Hall and searched for his name on the black board. "Asahi Shiina…Asahi Shiina…Asahi Shiina…found it! Class 2-1, better get going then. It's not like I know anyone here anyway." he thought.

When he entered his classroom he noticed many groups of people sitting and chatting together, except for one student. It was a girl. Asahi had no idea why, but that girl immediately caught his eye. Taking a closer look she was really pretty.

She had beautiful waist-length black hair, crimson eyes and was of average height, but while everyone around her was laughing and had smiles on their faces the black-haired girl seemed...distant and a bit sad.

"Hey you, come over here to us! Don't just stand there all by yourself!" he heard someone call him from one of the backseats.

"Uh, yeah sure!"

"What's your name, man?" asked one of the boys in the group.

"Shiina. Asahi Shiina, nice to meet you."

Asahi was happy that people were talking to him, which could only mean that he wouldn't be alone for too long, but he also couldn't help thinking about that girl who sat on the other side of the room. She just sat there all alone staring blankly out of the window with her head resting on the palm of her hand.

"Hey Shiina, you listening?"

That was enough to rip him off of his trance. It was only then that he noticed that he was staring at the black-haired girl all this time and wasn't really paying attention to his classmates.

"Uhm sorry guys, but who is she and why is she sitting there all alone?" Asahi asked curiously, while looking at the said girl again.

"Her? That's Kuromi Ryujin. Pretty as a doll, but she doesn't really talk much and she's...well kind of strange and doesn't really fit in. You should do it as we do and avoid her as much as possible." answered one of the boys.

"Yeah plus she's got that dark aura around her. I swear she gives me the chills." added the other.

Asahi didn't like the way his classmates excluded the girl, just because she was "different", but before he could protest, the teacher walked in and told the students to take their seats.

"We can go home afterwards. Let's talk some more tomorrow alright Shiina?"

"Yeah, sure." Asahi answered not satisfied with what his classmates told him about this girl called Kuromi Ryujin. He wanted to know much more, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.

"I don't think I should just leave her be, I mean she must be lonely if everyone avoids her and I don't think that's fair. I should talk to her after class." He decided in thought before turning his attention to his teacher.

After class Asahi wanted to put his words into action and talk to Kuromi, but when he looked over to her side she wasn't there. Asahi stared at her empty seat and he had to admit he was a bit disappointed that she left so quickly.

"She must've gone home already, that's too bad I really wanted to talk to her. Well I guess I'll just have to try again tomorrow." He thought before leaving school as well.

* * *

It was still early and Asahi didn't really want to go home yet so he told himself he would walk around a bit to get acquainted with the area.

Kyushu was actually really nice. There were a lot of parks with many trees including cherry blossom trees and gardens with beautiful flowers. There were also many restaurants with a variety of delicious dishes and the streets were crowded.

"Should I really get used to this place when I could leave next year like all the other times? Does any of this have any meaning if it will end up as a memory anyway?" These questions occupied the young boy's mind since his arrival in his new home.

The red-head was so lost in his thoughts and worries that he didn't notice that it got dark fast and that he should go home quickly. His parents were certainly worried sick that he didn't come home after school, but just as he wanted to return he heard someone's scream. In an alleyway just around the corner Asahi could see a young boy around his age surrounded by three other guys.

Strangely enough, they were all dressed the same: white hooded-jackets with black tiger stripes, white pants and white trainers. They looked like they belonged to some kind of gang or something.

"Please, let me go! I'll give you what you want, but please just let me go!"

"Shut it will ya? Now stop squirmin' or we'll have to be very rude to ya!"

Without thinking twice Asahi stepped in to help the poor boy.

"Hey, you! Why don't you take on someone of your size? And besides three against one, you think that's fair?"

Upon hearing the "intruder" the three taller boys who seemed to already be in high school let the other middle schooler go, who ran away in the process and turned their attention fully to Asahi.

"Look at him acting all tough. Boy has a lot of nerve getting involved in our business."

"Yeah, who does that punk think he is?"

"Hey Mori-san, I think we'll have to show him what happens when you mess with members of the Torakiba."

"I agree fellas, let's show him what it means to get in our way," declared the one called Mori, before quickly stepping forward and punching the red-head right in the stomach.

That caused Asahi to lose his balance and fall hardly on the ground. Unfortunately they didn't stop there and soon the other two stepped forward as well, surrounding him and kicking down on him mercilessly.

There wasn't much the young boy could do to defend himself except crossing his arms over his upper body to at least shield himself a bit from the brutal attacks of the older boys.

He soon felt his limbs go numb from the pain and hoped that they would soon get bored and stop or that someone would come and help him. Just as he was about to lose hope someone did come to his rescue.

Suddenly the beating stopped and all he could hear were pain cries, but they were a little further away. He lowered his arms a little, only to see that the guys who just beat him up were now lying on the ground themselves wincing in pain.

But there was someone else standing in front of him. She had her back turned to him so he couldn't make out her face, but she was clearly a girl. He could tell from the long blond hair and the mini skirt with over-knee socks she was wearing, she also wore a wide black coat over her shoulders and there was a wooden sword in her left hand.

"That's enough. If you want to fight," she said while taking on a fighting stance, "I will be your opponent."

The three boys layed on the ground paralyzed without speaking a single word for a while, until the shortest among them broke the silence.

"M-Mori-san we should leave w-we don't stand a chance against her!"

"Y-Yeah, that's right that's the black dragon herself, w-we should r-run while we still can!"

"Shit, you're right let's retreat boys!"

Only a short time later, they ran away and soon disappeared in the darkness of the evening.

The "black dragon" sank her sword and turned around to face the boy she just saved.

Now that she was facing him, Asahi could finally see her face. She wore a black medical mask that covered her face, so he could only see her fiery red eyes that stared down at him blankly and instead of a shirt there were bandages that covered her half-bare chest.

"The bruises aren't that bad, looks like I showed up before worse could happen. Are you okay? Can you stand?" she asked with the same blank expression as before.

Asahi couldn't say anything. He didn't know if he was just confused by all that had happened or if he lost the ability to speak at the beauty of the girl in front of him. Nevertheless he managed to voice out a barely audible "Yeah."

Fortunately, the girl in front of him heard it anyway and so she stretched out her free hand motioning for him, to take it, so she can help him up.

Asahi slowly raised his hand to take hers, even if it hurt a lot to do so. The blonde helped him up carefully, not wanting to hurt him further and put one of his arms around her neck holding it with one of her hands and putting the other behind his back to steady him.

Asahi blushed at the sudden contact, but the girl next to him seemed unfazed and instead continued talking normally.

"You can stand and that's good, but I'll accompany you home to be safe, so lead the way."

This caught him off-guard. Did she just say she would accompany him home? Who was this girl anyway and why were these tall and strong boys so scared of a short, young girl like her?

"Hey are you listening? What's wrong? Did you hit your head and you don't remember where you live or what?" she asked while waving her hand in front of his face.

Oh right, he spaced out again. "N-No I didn't! I'm fine and yes you're right. I should go home, it's really late and my parents must be wondering where I am. It's this way." he said, this time with more conviction.

The red-eyed girl only nodded in agreement and started walking with him.

The walk home was mostly spent in silence, which was only broken when they arrived in front of Asahi's house.

"We're here. Thank you for your help, um...I don't even know your name. I'm Asahi Shiina, nice to meet you." Asahi told her smiling for the first time since the attack.

"My name shouldn't concern you, just address me as black dragon like everyone else and you're welcome." She turned to leave, but stopped to say more. "One more thing, don't walk around so late anymore, as you could see the streets are quite dangerous around here, because of them. Now go inside and tell your family, you're alright. Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself."

"Alright, will do. Be careful on your way home, black dragon and thanks again. I'll be more careful next time." he told her before entering his house.

Seeing that the red-haired boy entered his home safely, the "black dragon" made her way home as well.

After a while she arrived and entered as quietly as possible not wanting her parents to hear her. When she finally made it to her room, the door in front of her read: "Kuromi". She quickly opened the door and closed it just as fast. She then changed into a pair of red pajamas with black stripes and took off her blonde wig to reveal her long black hair.

Kuromi was exhausted and so she let herself fall onto her bed. "Damn them, why did they have to show up today of all days? Good thing I was around or it would've ended badly for that boy", she thought while standing up again and preparing properly for bed. "Asahi Shiina...isn't he in my class? Wonderful. A classmate who could find out my true identity. Just what I needed."

After she finished brushing her teeth and her hair, Kuromi went back to bed. "I have to be careful around him, it would be troublesome if he were to notice something." She mumbled before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

A/N: And that was all for Chapter 1 of The Dragon and the Marlin! Like I promised this time with a longer chapter, with way more insight than in the prologue and I properly introduced my main characters. I hope you liked it, please read and review and I'll see you guys next time!


	3. Chapter 2

A/N: Hey everyone! Welcome back to The Dragon and the Marlin!

Once again, Italian sentences are translated in round brackets. To distinguish the two languages everything said/ thought in Italian will be in _italics_.

Have fun reading and I hope you'll enjoy it, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – His way of life and her convictions**

"Beep! Beep! Beep!" the digital alarm went.

A hand slapped the alarm shut and a black-haired head rose from the sheets.

"Ugh, same thing every morning. I'll never get used to this." Kuromi said grumpily before standing up and heading to the bathroom. When she got out she sat down, started combing her hair and rethinking the events that occurred the day before.

"They've been getting more aggressive lately, just what are they trying to accomplish? And that boy Asahi Shiina, they got him real good. I wonder if he's alright, I should check on him later, just to be sure."

After she was done she got dressed in her uniform, took her bag and made her way downstairs.

Kuromi walked into the kitchen, not surprised that she was alone. Her parents were never home when she woke up, they were already at work and came back pretty late. She decided not to think about it too much and noticing that it was already time to leave, she just grabbed a toast and left, locking the door behind her.

* * *

When she arrived at school she sat down in her seat and looked over to the other side of the room. Asahi was already sitting there talking and laughing with the other boys. Apparently they wanted to eat out together after school.

"He seems alright despite the beating he took. I just hope he plans on listening to me and not staying out when it gets dark," Kuromi thought, while also thinking that she needed to talk to the others and tell them to be more vigilant on the streets from now on, "I'll convene a meeting tonight to discuss the events of the last few weeks and if necessary even come out more often myself."

Meanwhile on the other side of the classroom the boys were questioning Asahi about his injuries.

"Hey Shiina, what happened to you anyway? You look awful." One of them asked only now noticing Asahi's bruises.

"Oh, these? I'd love to tell you I got them from some epic fight, but it was more of a one-sided brawl. I wanted to help some kid who was surrounded by three older guys, strangely enough they were all dressed the same and-"

Now even the other boys started paying attention to Asahi's story, who were suddenly very interested upon hearing about the culprits.

"A brawl? You must be pretty carefree, for you to talk about it so easily. And they were dressed the same, are you sure? What were they wearing?" interrupted another seemingly knowing something more about the subject.

"I did get out of it mildly, so I guess it wasn't that bad. About the clothing yeah, I'm sure. They were all dressed in white with black tiger stripes." Asahi told him a bit taken aback by his questions.

"I knew it! There's no doubt, those were members of the Torakiba!"

"Tora-what?"

"Torakiba." he repeated. "A gang of high schoolers who lurk in the dark and mostly target the younger and weaker ones. But there is one thing I don't get, if you encountered the Torakiba how did you make it out with only a few bruises?"

"Well they did get me good and I was completely at their mercy, but then someone saved me," the redhead continued with his thoughts on the blonde beauty he had met the night before, "a blond girl, armed with a wooden sword, completely dressed in black and a medical mask that covered her face."

Even though Asahi's description was rather vague his classmates seemed to know exactly who he was talking about.

"For real? The black dragon came to your rescue? It's rare for her to show up and handle things herself. Usually she sends some of her guys. You got the devil's own luck, man."

Surprise spread on Asahi's face and his eyes widened as he heard his friend speak so specifically about his savior. The mysterious girl really seemed to be well-known in the area just as she told him the night before. Now he had gotten curious and wanted to know more.

"You seem to know a lot about her. Just who is she and why does she walk around at night like some sort of vigilante?" he inquired further.

"It's because she is a vigilante, rather she's the leader of a vigilante group. They're called Tatsukiba and they're kind of the rival gang of the Torakiba who protect the innocents that are attacked by the latter. They mostly wander around at night, that's why you shouldn't stay out too late. Speaking of not staying out late, what were you still doing at that hour anyway, Shiina?" he informed the redhead.

"I'm not familiar with the area yet, so I wanted to walk around to get acquainted with it and," he sighed, thinking about how careless it was of him to get so lost in thought to even lose track of time. "I was lost in thought and I didn't even notice how long I've been walking around until I heard these screams. I tried to help that boy, but as soon as they noticed me they turned their attention and aggression on me, until the black dragon came along.

It all happened so fast and when I lowered my arms to see what was going on, the members of the Torakiba were lying on the ground wincing in pain. One of them recognized her and told the other two they didn't stand a chance against her and that they should run while they still can. After they were gone she helped me up, accompanied me home and told me to be careful and not to wander around that late anymore." Asahi finished.

But before one of the guys could ask him more the homeroom/classic literature teacher walked in, so everyone had to go back to their seats and Asahi was kinda glad the interrogation was over.

"Listen up, class! We're starting with a partner assignment. First I will determine who is partnered with whom and then I'll proceed to explain the essay."

Asahi then remembered his black-haired classmate he wanted to talk to. This time he needed to be faster if he wanted to stop her from leaving so quickly again. Even though she wasn't the most talkative person, she seemed to be a nice girl. He didn't know why, but he felt a kind of familiarity with her and when her eyes met his, the feeling grew even stronger.

"...Shiina and Ryujin. That should be everyone. Now about the assignment..." the teacher began to distribute the topics to the partner groups and explain the task.

Once again Asahi was ripped out of his thoughts when he heard the teacher call his and his partner's name. Ryujin. Kuromi Ryujin. It was her, she was his partner. "That's perfect! That's my chance to talk to her and who knows, maybe I can convince her to become my friend!" he thought excitedly, but before he could move on to sit with her one of his friends who was on his way to his own partner grabbed his arm, stopping him in the process.

"Hey, good luck, you'll need it and get away as soon as you can." His friend whispered so that only he could hear it.

Asahi couldn't believe his ears. He was talking about Kuromi like she was some kind of demon when she was a normal girl like everyone else. He appreciated him and the others, but he didn't appreciate someone being left out just for being "different", so he was going to seize the chance to talk to her and hopefully learning more about his partner.

"Thanks, but I don't need luck to have a friendly conversation with my essay partner." Asahi returned, pulling his arm away freeing it from the grip of his friend who only mumbled a quiet "Hmpf, don't say I didn't try to warn you."

Ignoring his comment Asahi grabbed a chair and sat down in front of Kuromi who was already waiting for him and was reading the essay the teacher laid on their table.

"So, um...I'm Asahi Shiina, it's nice to meet you, Ryujin." He introduced himself politely.

Kuromi only mouthed a quiet "Mhm" without even looking up from her paper to face the boy.

It went on like that for the rest of the day, with Kuromi only speaking to Asahi, if it was absolutely necessary. Before they knew it the bell rang signalizing the end of their final class.

Asahi had hoped to catch his black-haired classmate before she disappears, but once again he had no luck and even though they were essay partners, he couldn't ask her anything besides questions about their tasks.

"Hey Shiina you coming, man?"

Right. He wanted to eat out with the boys after class. It nearly slipped his mind, so it was a good thing the other boy reminded him.

"I should call it a day after that. I don't want to get in trouble again, I don't want to worry mom either so I should pay attention to the clock this time." Asahi thought before catching up to his friends and leaving the classroom.

* * *

Meanwhile, the said girl was standing on the rooftop watching the students leave through the front gate. She was scanning the crowd for a head of messy red hair which she didn't take long to recognize.

"He's leaving and he's with his friends, that's reassuring. I hope he makes good on his word and goes home early or else I would have to bail him out again," she thought while making her way towards the gate herself.

"Speaking of which, why did that kid try to talk to me so persistently? Did he notice anything already? No, that's impossible I was careful. Then again he's incredibly nosy, a quality that practically only made it easier for the Torakiba to target him. Asahi Shiina, you're an incredible fool, but just like all the others you stand under our protection, so nothing will happen to you again under my watch." She finished, noticing she already passed the gate, but continued to walk towards her house this time in silence.

By the time she arrived in front of her home she heard a ring come from her pocket. Kuromi pulled out her phone and looked at the caller ID. Noticing who it was she picked up and spoke in a serious tone.

"You've got perfect timing like always, Shi-chan. I'm calling a gathering tonight, make sure everyone shows up. We need to discuss the recent events."

"And like always you already know what I wanted to tell you, Romi-chan. Leave it to me, everyone will be there tonight. I'll see you then.~" answered a sweet, silvery voice.

Kuromi hung up satisfied, knowing she can always count on her friend to take care of things for her. With that thought out of the way she opened the door and let herself in. She made herself something to eat and took off to her room to rest until it was time for the gathering.

* * *

**A few hours later at the abandoned warehouse...**

Chatter could be heard from the usually empty building, as discussed the entire Tatsukiba group was present and was impatiently waiting for the arrival of their leader.

**Meanwhile...**

A black-clothed figure is standing outside a house close to the abandoned warehouse she was headed to, but first she wanted to check if her classmate had done as she told him and was at home with his family by now and much to her satisfaction he was.

"What a troublesome and yet interesting fellow you are, Asahi Shiina. I even go out of my way to check personally if you're safe, you better not cause me any inconveniences." She affirmed sounding annoyed if it weren't for her smile betraying her and showing clear amusement on her face.

The black dragon took one last look inside the Shiina household before turning around and start walking towards the hideout where her fellow "dragons" were waiting for her.

* * *

**Back at the hideout...**

The dragons were growing more impatient by the minute. They were all complaining about their boss taking so long, something they would've never dared to say aloud when she was around, but to their relief soon a blonde girl entered the warehouse and climbed on top of a box so that everyone could see and hear her well.

"Enough." she simply said silencing everyone in the hall and turning everyone's attention to her.

As soon as everyone had quieted down the second-in-command stepped forward and greeted their leader first followed by everyone else.

"You have finally arrived. We've been waiting for you, boss. With your permission, the gathering will now begin."

"Yes, thank you white dragon and I apologize for my delay, but there was some business I had to take care of before coming here. Let's start with the reports," The black dragon declared moving her gaze towards one of her most trusted companions in front of her equally dressed in black, but with a dark blue mask. "blue dragon, step forward." She ordered.

The others stepped aside so that the boy could step forward like he was ordered to. He got down on both knees and sat down on his legs resting his fists on them and looking up at his leader.

"Blue dragon, at your service boss. The northern district had an increase in attacks of about 30% prior to the holidays of which about 4% occurred in the last 2 days, the western and southern districts had an increase of 20% and the eastern of 10%." He reported accurately.

"Thank you, blue dragon. Now, rise and step back." The boy followed her command and returned to his post.

"That's no good, the school is in the northern district, but why concentrate their attacks there? Just what are you aiming for, Taiga?" she mused while rubbing her chin, but came to no logical response. Either way the blonde had to act first and think second, she would worry about their motives later.

"Everyone," she spoke up again, "I want you to strengthen the defenses in every district especially the north. Red dragon and brown dragon, I want you and your squads in the west. Silver dragon and gray dragon, you take on the east. Purple dragon and rainbow dragon, you and your squads will look after the south. And lastly blue dragon, white dragon and myself the black dragon us and our squads, we will be watching the north." She finished splitting their forces as equal in strength and numbers as possible with 4 members in each squad including their leaders.

The subordinates (drakes) joined their respective leaders (dragons) upon hearing the instruction of their boss and nodded in agreement.

Kuromi nodded too understanding that everyone knew what their task was from now on. "Very well, everyone knows what they have to do. I trust each of you will fulfill his role to the best of his or her abilities and with this ends our gathering, you're all free to go now. And always remember our creed, "_Noi proteggiamo coloro che non possono proteggersi da soli_!" (We protect those who cannot protect themselves!) the young leader calls out to the crowd in front of her while raising her fist up in the air.

The dragons repeat after her and imitate her pose, before splitting up and leaving for their respective homes.

Ending the gathering with her speech Kuromi jumps down from the box she was standing on and is about to leave as well, but notices someone else other than herself still being there, so she turns around to face said person.

"I should've known you'd still be here Shi-chan. What is it you want to tell me?" she asked her white-haired friend, whom she knew all along that it was her.

"You know exactly what I'm going to ask you Romi-chan. Where were you before the gathering? It must've been something really important for you of all the people to be late, which if I recall correctly...oh right! It never happened since you became our leader. There are also rumors that you acted on your own last night, when you should've at least called your squad to back you up. Just what on earth were you thinking, Romi-chan? That was dangerous!" the slightly taller girl scolded her superior like she was her mother or at least that's what the blonde and the other dragons always called her, since she always took care of everyone and scolded them when they did something out of line like right now.

"Well first," Kuromi started, "Like I said, I had business to take care of since things got more personal, that's why I was late for the very first time. Second, I wasn't really thinking as there was no time to do so. I was just wandering around, until I heard the screams so I ran out to that boy's rescue. You know exactly I never hesitate to help someone in need and third calling for my squad would've taken too much time, so I took them on myself. There were only three of them anyway so it was a cinch and besides that boy," she paused for a moment, "he's in my class as it seems. I went to his house to check if he listened to me and stayed home when it got dark and it seems he did, I came here right after." And with that she finished telling her story.

Shiro only looked at her with widened eyes and a worried expression, worried mostly for her friend's identity being discovered. "You can't be serious! He's your classmate? What if he recognizes you somehow? What will you do then? Why do you always have to be so reckless, when it comes to others Romi-chan?" she continued lecturing her friend.

"Shi-chan, calm down! Listen, I know you're worried and you say that, because you care, but I can handle this. He'll never know that his classmate Kuromi Ryujin and his savior the black dragon are the same person. I'll stay away from him as often as possible from now on, so no more worries, kay?" Kuromi reassured her second-in-command, who was freaking out way too much for her liking.

"Okay, if you say so then I have no other choice, but to believe you-" Shiro sighed before looking at her wristwatch noticing that it's really late and they should both be going home, "Damn, we need to leave, it's so late again. Take care of yourself Romi-chan and watch out on your way home. I'll see you tomorrow." She told the blonde before storming off into the darkness of the night.

Kuromi waved at her friend and shouted "you too" afterwards. Picking up her wooden sword she finally left as well wanting nothing more than to sleep as soon as she got home.

* * *

Back at home Kuromi snuck in as silently as possible, so she wouldn't wake her parents, much to her misfortune though, she wasn't alone.

Asia Ryujin, a beautiful woman with shoulder length black hair and ash grey eyes. This woman was Kuromi's mother, who was standing in the kitchen with her arms crossed in front of her chest, clearly annoyed that her daughter came home so late on a school day no less.

"Do you have any idea how worried I've been, young lady? It's pitch-dark outside and the streets are dangerous at this hour!" she reprimanded her child, but she did so while taking in account that her husband was sleeping and didn't want to wake him, "Were you with them again? Do you think that getting into fights in the streets is any kind of justice? Then let me tell you something, no it's not, then why? Why do you do something so reckless and stupid? Answer me, Amanda!"

It seemed like Kuromi couldn't escape being scolded several times today. First her friend and now her mother and for similar reasons at that. Also her mother was the only one, who called her by her middle name Amanda, which came from her mother's Italian side.

And boy, did her Italian side show, especially when she felt strong emotions, like right now.

"_Lo faccio per il bene dei più deboli Madre, non perché mi piace fare del male agli altri_," (I do it for the sake of the weak mother, not because I like causing harm to others.) she responded, strongly believing in those words she spoke, "Now, I'm tired so I'll go to sleep. You should do the same, mother. Good night." She finished speaking Japanese again and climbing up the stairs to her room and getting ready to go to bed.

Asia sighed exasperatedly, but also extremely worried for her only daughter. It couldn't be otherwise, thinking back at the life she led. She and her husband tried for a long time to talk her out of this, but they never succeeded, and so they're both at a loss, about what they could do. Asia would need to talk to him about it again, it can't continue like this and with that thought in mind she made her way upstairs as well, finally going to bed herself.

* * *

A/N: That was chapter 2, this time I wanted to give more insight on the two rival groups and what their motives are, but is that really everything or is there more to them than meets the eye? Continue reading to find out and stay tuned for the next chapter of The Dragon and the Marlin! I hope you liked it, please read and review and I'll see you guys next time!


	4. Chapter 3

A/N: Hey and welcome back to The Dragon and the Marlin!

Sorry for the late update guys, I'll try to update more frequently from now on.

Have fun reading and I hope you'll enjoy it, please read and review!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my OCs.

* * *

**Chapter 3 – An Inconvenient Attachment  
**

Time went by fairly quickly, with Asahi settling in well in his new home and before he knew it the first semester was already over. School was fun and with the new friends he made, he didn't feel so despondent anymore.

The young boy went home immediately after class or hung out with the guys for a few hours before doing so, but this time he found an excuse to go home alone. His friends thought he had to go home early, because his parents needed him to help them with something, but he told them school would last longer that day.

There was a reason for him to lie, though. It was nothing less than seeing her again. "Her", as in the blond girl who got him out of trouble the night of his first day of school. The only problem was contacting said girl, since he had no idea who she was and so there was solely one other thing to do. Coming to a stop in an empty park after wandering for hours, Asahi stopped, took a deep breath and started calling for help as loud as he could.

* * *

**Only a few minutes earlier, somewhere nearby...**

"It's so quiet around here and nothing's happening, can't we retreat for today?" asked of the white drakes, visibly tired, yawning directly after his question.

"Or can't we at least take a break, boss? We've been walking for hours now." a blue drake added.

The black dragon stopped, causing her comrades behind her to stop as well. She turned around to look at the ones who just spoke after a long quiet walk. The boys and girls of the other two squads were expecting an answer, but strangely it never came. Instead, their leader turned her back on them again, put one hand on her weapon and the other under her chin, diving into her thoughts. Confused, the members of the Tatsukiba shrugged silently at each other and took a few steps back to give their boss space. Of course, she understood that they were tired, after all she was as well, but the young girl couldn't shake off the bad feeling she had about the school area. Especially since they were almost at the same spot where one of her classmates became victim of an attack. But why was she thinking about him now? She told him to go home early that night, and he did for the last few months, so she assumed he had to be safe from future attacks.

Oh, but how much did the universe love proving her wrong.

It was then that the gang heard someone scream for help. That snapped the "blonde" out of her thoughts and made the other two leaders and their subordinates run to her, not bothering to say anything, as there was no time to waste. After they regrouped they instantly ran in the direction of the scream.

* * *

What they saw there wasn't at all what they expected. There was only one person standing at the entrance of a nearby park, and he didn't seem injured in the slightest. The white and blue dragon stepped beside the black dragon, who contrary to the happy expression on the boy's face had an annoyed one on hers as soon as she saw him. "What is the meaning of this? Is this some kind of sick joke?" the blue dragon demanded, sounding just as annoyed as his leader watching the scene in front of him.

The "blond" girl simply raised her hand, silencing him on the spot. After that she lowered it, took a step forward and slightly tilted her head towards the other two leaders and her other comrades.

"You don't need to concern yourselves with this, I will take care of him. You two take your squads and scout the area for any real conflicts. Take mine with you too, we'll regroup in about an hour on this same spot. White, you're in charge during this time." she finished giving her orders.

"As you wish, boss." They all said in unison, before running off in separate directions.

With the disappearance of her group, the young leader was free to interrogate the "victim". She moved to sit on a nearby bench, patting the spot next to her motioning for him to do the same. But before he could say anything to explain himself, the girl anticipated him.

"Asahi Shiina, you incredible fool, just what do you think you're accomplishing with a stunt like that? Wasn't last time you were out at this hour a lesson for you not to do that again, especially after you told me yourself you wouldn't?" she inquired, with a piercing gaze.

The redhead was aware that what he did annoyed the vigilante girl, so he tried to clarify his situation, grateful he was even able to.

"Listen, I know you're pissed, but I'm only here because I wanted...no I needed to talk to you! And I had no idea how else to contact you, so I had this not so smart plan to try to meet you."

The masked girl had an astonished look on her face upon hearing the boy's statement. She couldn't understand why someone would take such a stupid risk just to meet her. No one ever wanted to, despite having many admirers, so why was the new boy that interested in her? Even so, it was dangerous and the redhead clearly stood no chance against her rival group. Maybe if she talked some sense into him, he would actually listen this time and forget all about this. It was worth a try, after all. Crossing her arms, the young vigilante prepared herself to give the moron next to her a piece of her mind.

"You shouldn't have come here in the first place, and we were not supposed to meet again. More importantly, you could have forgotten all of this and returned to your ordinary life. Why didn't you just do that? I'm busy, Asahi Shiina. I can't always be there to bust you out of trouble and neither can my comrades."

The young boy sighed, knowing full well that she was right. "I know and believe me I tried, I really did, but I couldn't just forget. I've never known someone like you. We barely met and yet you risked getting hurt, just to shield me from harm. That left a real impression on me. I kept asking myself, why? Why would you do that? What kind of person must you be? And before I knew it...I couldn't get you out of my head." he explained with a sincere smile and a look of admiration towards the "blonde".

The red-eyed girl was grateful that her mask hid her cheeks, otherwise the blush on them would have been visible. Kuromi internally thanked the gods that he was so dense. How could he say such things with a straight face? Unlike her, he was so honest, with no pretenses and wore his heart on his sleeve and that in turn, impressed her. However, unlike him she had a reputation to defend and if she ever showed any sign of faltering no one would respect her anymore.

Pushing these thoughts away and regaining her composure she spoke again with a secure tone. "Contrary to what you may think, my gang exists for the sole purpose of defending those in need. You happened to be one of them that night, but that doesn't mean I can always act on a single person's whims. This thing we have going on with the Torakiba is serious and I can't have anybody distract me, but since you're so insistent," she stood up, looking back at him, signalizing that it was time to leave. "Meet me tomorrow night in the park near your house, we'll have more time then and I'll answer some of your questions. I'll do that on one condition: You're staying home after this is over and you won't get involved anymore. Take it or leave it, it's your choice."

Asahi also got up and looked at her perplexed. "It's not a whim, black dragon and yes I do have a lot of questions, like why can't we meet during the day? Or why can't anyone know who you are?"

"Everything will be clear to you tomorrow, you have my word. Now go home. It was a long night for all of us, and we'll need all the rest we can get." she said, turning away from him, noticing that her comrades had returned.

Asahi took this as his cue to leave, so he did after saying goodbye. That left the gang with enough privacy to regroup and discuss their patrol.

"Everything is clear, boss. It seems they were holding back tonight for some reason, we can look into that if you so desire." The slightly taller white-haired girl reported.

"Thank you everyone and yes please do. Blue and white, you and your squads can retreat for tonight. As for you," the girl with the black mask said eyeing her own squad, then her red-haired classmate. "Follow him discreetly, until he's safely back home, you can leave afterwards. That is all, rest well everyone." she finished, ready to take her leave.

"We will, thank you boss!" the others responded once again in unison, leaving for their respective homes or task. All except for one.

"Tell me Shi-chan, is lecturing me that much fun to you?" Kuromi questioned, pulling down her mask showing an amused little smirk.

Her friend on the other hand didn't seem to be so amused. "No actually, but I am forced to do so, since you can't be careful on your own! It was him, right? Your classmate from last time, who could recognize you and you wanted to stay away from as much as possible, instead of getting attached to him? Why even go so far for someone you barely know? I swear, sometimes you make me want to strangle you, Romi-chan!" she scolded the shorter girl once again.

Kuromi had to contain her laughter, spilling some single tears trying to do so. After regaining her composure, she wiped them away and spoke clearly again. "Come now, Shi-chan there's no need to get so worked up. I told you I got this, but him showing up here is not my fault, I swear! Besides..." the young leader sighed, showing a tender smile on her lips right after doing so. "He's been nothing, but nice to me in this short time we've known each other and I didn't even talk to him once unless I needed to. The least I can do to repay him, is watch over him. He may be a fool, but he has a good heart. I can tell."

Shiro's expression softened upon hearing the other girl speak so openly and honestly, like she hadn't done in a long time.

"Romi-chan-"

"We've been here long enough, white. You must be exhausted and so am I, so let's leave and should anything unexpected happen tomorrow, call me immediately." the black dragon interrupted, the smile leaving her face and making her way home herself after giving her final order.

"As you wish, boss." Shiro replied with a quiet sigh.

* * *

**The next day at school...**

Asahi was sitting in his seat with his head resting on the table. Fatigue was evident in him, considering that he got home late the previous day and the meeting he would have later in the evening occupied his thoughts so much, it barely let him sleep. He slowly raised himself, as it was time for class to start.

On the other side of the classroom was a sleeping Kuromi, who originally planned to skip school on that day, but ultimately decided against it, regretting it as soon as she sat down, falling asleep almost instantly.

The redhead noticed and decided to take notes for her that he would give her later and hopefully it would also be an opportunity to finally break the ice between the two.

The ringing of the bell woke the black-haired girl up. "Damn it, I slept through the whole class and I didn't even get to make notes. I really need to listen to Shi-chan more and rest once in a while, but first I need some fresh air." she sluggishly got to her feet, letting go of her thoughts and making her way towards the rooftop, where she knew she would get the privacy she needed. What she didn't notice though, because of her drowsiness was someone following her.

When she arrived she sat on the ground, pulling her legs to her chest and closing her eyes.

"Hey, Ryujin?"

Kuromi turned her attention in the direction of the voice that called her name and opened her eyes again to face whoever was standing before her. "Asahi Shiina, can I never get rid of this guy?" she sighed, murmuring softly to herself, so he couldn't hear.

"So, I was wondering," Asahi gestured to the spot next to her. "Is it okay, if I sit next to you? I'd like to show you something." he asked with hope resounding in his voice.

Kuromi nodded, waiting for the boy to seat himself beside her.

With her approval he did and pulled the notes he made out of his bag and handed them to her.

"What are those?" Kuromi asked rubbing her eyes and inspecting the papers the boy gave her.

"Notes from our last class. I thought you'd need them, since you slept through all of it." he responded with a beaming smile.

He really was remarkable, that classmate of hers. Everyone must have noticed her dozing off, but no one cared enough to even think about helping her in some way, so why did he? That thought kept bugging her and about the notes he gave her, they were written in horrible handwriting, but they were informative enough for her to keep up. Maybe a little chat to humor him wouldn't hurt.

She leaned in closer and put a hand on his cheek, "Your injuries, they're not that bad anymore. They're way better, actually." she commented, successfully changing the subject.

Asahi was taken aback by the sudden closeness. He didn't expect the usually silent girl to pull such a bold move, which made him blush furiously and stumble over his words. "O-Oh, y-yeah they are! They're almost completely g-gone, I didn't t-think you'd notice though!"

Kuromi seemed delighted to hear that, but something still plagued her. "You know, there's something I don't quite understand, Shiina-kun. Why do you even trouble yourself with the thought of me keeping up with schoolwork or wanting to talk to me in general? After all," she got up and leaned against the railing glancing down at him. "Nobody ever does and I'm pretty sure the others warned you about getting involved with me."

"Oh, they did I just didn't care," Asahi crossed his arms above his head, "I don't believe anyone should be alone and no one can persuade me to think otherwise." he spoke watching her with a bright grin on his face.

Kuromi raised an eyebrow at that last part. "He's a smooth one, I'll give him that. He kinda reminds me of-", she cut herself off, not wanting to finish that thought. Thankfully, the bell rung shortly after, signalizing the end of the break.

"Over already? Well, it can't be helped, I guess." Asahi lamented, lowering his arms, but froze at what he saw before him, or rather who.

For a moment the girl beside him looked exactly like the blond vigilante he was so fond of, while she stretched her hand out to help him up. No, she couldn't be here. She wouldn't show up in broad daylight, but why was he thinking of her then?

Meanwhile, Kuromi was watching the boy with a puzzled look on her face. "Why is he staring at me like that? We don't have time for this, damn it! I can't afford to miss any more lectures for today." She thought before calling his name in hope of snapping him out of his trance or whatever it was he was doing.

Asahi blinked a few times, rubbing his eyes upon hearing someone calling for him. The image before him changed back to that of his dark-haired classmate, who waited for him to finally move from the spot he was gawking at her from. "Sorry about that, Ryujin! I zoned out, you're right we should go!" he blurted, finally taking the girl's hand letting her help him up, without letting it go and dragging her along, running towards their classroom.

* * *

**Later in the evening...**

Normally Kuromi would've already left, but once again the universe enjoyed proving her wrong, when she thought that she could leave home without another lecture. To be fair it came from her father this time, but not without an attack with a Kendo sword.

Masahiro Ryujin, a fairly tall man with green hair and the same crimson red eyes as his daughter, was standing between her and the door. Kuromi blocked his sword with her own expertly, displaying the fruits of her training.

"That's my girl, you keep getting better, but you still have a long way to go." He says proudly, retracting his weapon.

The young girl did the same and bowed respectfully. "I learned from the best after all, didn't I?" she replied with a small smile.

Masahiro smiled back, but then spoke in a more serious tone. "Your mother and I talked Kuromi and I believe she's right, I don't want you out late either. Like now, where do you think you're going at this hour?"

"No need to get worked up, father, I'm just meeting someone. I'll be back before you know it and it won't even take long."

Her father raised an eyebrow. "And who might that someone be?"

"Just an acquaintance, it's no big deal and you know I can take care of myself. Can I go now, though? The sooner I go, the sooner I'll return after all." She responded, holding his gaze determinately.

Masahiro seemed hesitant, but agreed although he was reluctant to do so. Moving aside he cleared the way for his daughter to leave the house.

Kuromi couldn't wait to leave and get this meeting over with, but her father spoke one last time before she could.

"Please don't hate me and your mother, little dragon. We only want what's best for you, we always did. Also be careful, I'm sure you already know it, but the streets are getting more dangerous, so watch your back."

"I know and I will. Thank you, father."

* * *

A/N: That was all for chapter 3 of The Dragon and the Marlin! As always stay tuned to find out what happens next! I hope you liked it, please read and review and I'll hopefully see you guys soon!


End file.
